Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Petuniaxc3x97hybrida cultivar Cobdarkink.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Petunia plant, botanically known as Petuniaxc3x97hybrida, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Cobdarkink.
The new Petunia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales, Australia. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Petunias with numerous double flowers with attractive flower colors.
The new Petunia originated from a cross made by the Inventor in 1998 of a proprietary Petunia selection identified as X96.410.1, not patented, as the female, or seed parent, with the Petunia cultivar Cobink, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,012, as the male, or pollen parent. The new Petunia was selected as a single plant from the resulting progeny by the Inventor in October, 1999, in Cobbitty, New South Wales, Australia, on the basis of its dark pink double flowers.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in Cobbitty, New South Wales, Australia since October, 1999 has shown that the unique features of this new Petunia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the cultivar Cobdarkink have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity and daylength without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Cobdarkinkxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Cobdarkinkxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Compact, uniform cascading and outwardly spreading plant habit.
2. Freely and continuous branching.
3. Numerous double flowers that are dark pink in color.
Plants of the new Petunia differ from plants of the female parent, the selection X96.410.1, primarily in flower color and flower form as plants of the female parent have white-colored single flowers.
Plants of the new Petunia differ from plants of the male parent, the cultivar Cobink, primarily in flower color as plants of the cultivar Cobink have lighter pink-colored flowers than plants of the new Petunia.